Eurovision continues down the road of stupidity. Imagine that.
From Blabbermouth:
One of the candidates to represent Finland in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest is a 22-year-old female singer by the name of KATRA, whose track “Tietäjä” bears more than a passing resemblance to the WITHIN TEMPTATION cut “Jillian”. To hear the choruses to the two songs played back-to-back, click here. A video clip of KATRA performing “Tietäjä” in its entirety can be found at this location.
According to YLE.fi, Katra has been playing the piano and studying for 15 years. Along with music, she has studied expressive arts. Her background in dance and gymnastics comes through in her live performances.
Katra was previously a member of several bands, including LOVEX and ESSENTIA. She played the synthesizer and sang background vocals in both groups.
Katra’s debut single, “Sahara”, was released in September 2006. Her full-length debut is expected this spring.
I blame all of this on Amy Lee.
Before Evanescence blew up, there was a limited market for the gothy metal chanteuse. Lee brought it down to corporate hard rock level, and now it’s spreading into Eurovision. And not only that, but they’ve run out of ideas and started pilfering from the original bunch of metal goddesses.
But seriously — if anything, this debacle says one thing loud and clear: it’s mainstreaming. It’s becoming a marketable class of its own. Those of us who enjoyed Lacuna Coil or Nightwish or many other bands in the late ’90s/early ’00s who pioneered the sound that is gaining popular momentum are finally being vindicated, albeit far too late and not quite in the way we originally would have hoped. Never mind that these once-original bands peaked four years ago or more. The world is late to the party and now we all get to suffer the popularity of the mediocre.
What is there left to say? Best of luck to Ms. Spooky Finn Vanilla Ice? Yay! Integrity R00LZ!
